Foreign policy adviser downplays Trump's 'torture' talk

One of Donald Trump’s foreign-policy advisers said the Republican front-runner is only talking about torturing terrorists because “we are in a political season” and doesn’t believe a Trump administration would resort to such techniques.

In the wake of the terrorist attacks that struck Brussels, the New York billionaire on Tuesday suggested harsh interrogation techniques, including torture, could have prevented the terrorists from carrying out a plan that killed at least 31 people and injured more than 270 in a series of explosions.

Walid Phares, a counterterrorism expert and Fox News contributor, told NPR’s “Morning Edition” on Wednesday that Trump’s rhetoric in response to the terrorist attack isn’t indicative of what he would do as president.

“This is a reaction to a very complex and difficult and challenging situation,” Phares said. “I think Mr. Trump, because we are in a political season, he’s making those statements, but when he will come to the White House … then he’s gonna be tasking experts to answer that question, and I’m not sure that the experts are gonna recommend any form of torture.”

Phares himself is against torture but said he does favor “an enhanced form of interrogation.”

Trump on Tuesday appeared to advocate torture during an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, when asked about Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam, who was captured in Belgium last week and is reportedly talking with investigators.

“Well you know he may be talking, but he’ll talk a lot faster with the torture," Trump said, remarking that if he would have talked sooner, perhaps Tuesday's attacks could have been prevented.

“I don’t think that in his semantics he said we need to torture. He said we need to have enhanced or a different or an alternative,” Phares said in defense of Trump, who toured the morning talk-show circuit Tuesday before consulting his advisers. “I know it’s gray, but he did not provide a clear-cut position that he is going to be torturing.”

Phares was named earlier this week as a member of Trump’s foreign-policy adviser team. He said it was tough to join Trump “because it’s a very politically charged ambiance.”

“But I accepted the task because I think there needs to be a major change in our policy — general policy — toward the region,” he said, referring to the Middle East.